I puffed out my chest, pulled open the door with so much force that it banged against the wall, and stormed in.
Nina scrunched her face with aha-hagrin.
Bitch!
Austin rushed to my side as though he would protect me. He cleared his throat.
“I told you guys to leave us alone,” Train barked, not looking over his shoulder. His hands were fisted at his sides.
“I’m not one of your guys. I thought I was your girlfriend.” I sounded as though someone was shaking me. “But I see I was wrong.”
He flew backward, zeroing in on me with panic swimming in his eyes. “It’s not what you think.”
I swept my gaze over him from head to toe, relieved that at least he didn’t have an erection like he’d had with me. “What is it, then? Is shoving your body against your ex your way of getting answers? What’s next? You rescue Nina from drowning then take her to bed to make her talk?”
I wanted to erase the satisfied smirk on Nina’s face.Bitch!
Austin rushed over to hop on a treadmill, which seemed odd until Coach Holmes’s voice rang loudly in my ears.
“What’s going on?” Coach asked from behind me. “And Everly, why the fuck are you practically naked with two girls in here? Don’t answer that. I’ll deal with you in a minute. First”—he wagged a gnarly finger at me then Nina—“get out. If I see either of you in here again, I’ll have you suspended.”
I swallowed hard, wanting nothing more than to scream bloody murder at Train, Nina, and myself. I wasn’t about to get suspended over a boy. I would rather get kicked out of school for anything else. I had so many conflicting emotions barreling through me. I believed Train wanted to help clear my name. I believed he didn’t want anything to do with Nina. But I was deeply hurt by the way he was trying to get Nina to talk. Giving into her desires wasn’t a way to get answers.You did the same to him when you brought him over your house and used your sexuality to get answers.But neither of us was in a relationship with anyone else.
Shut up!I screamed at my conscience. Then I laughed to myself. I was halfway to crazy. I glared at Train hard, trying to keep my sanity, my dignity, and from bawling my eyes out. I straightened my spine and walked out. As soon as I crossed the threshold, several pairs of eyes were on me. Some guys looked as though they wanted to console me, while others were shaking their heads.
“I’m sorry,” Derek said as I passed him.
Once I made it out to the bright sunshine, I shuddered, trying to hold back tears. But my tears dried up when heels prodded behind me.
“Train doesn’t want you.” Nina’s voice was sure and so flipping loud. “Train and I got too much history to throw away.”
Her cousin Drew might have been shy, but Nina shopped at a different mall.
I whirled around. “You threw away any chances with Train when you cheated. Also, I know you’re behind all the graffiti in school, and you wrote my name on the paint can that you found. An orange jumpsuit will look good on you.”
She held her head high, although a hint of fear shot out of her murky gray eyes. “You can’t prove a thing.”
“Watch me. And stay away from Train.”
“He wants me. You saw him all over me.” Her voice held so much pride.
I met her, nose to nose, with my fists ready to punch. “He was using you to get answers.” I wasn’t sure about that. “So again, stay the fuck away from him and me.” I turned on my heel to leave.
“Bitch,” she said.
Don’t engage. Keep walking.I did one better. I ran home, my mind a jumbled mess. The image of Train’s body almost flush with Nina’s made me want to bawl my eyes out. I’d never wanted a boy to affect me like Nikko had, but my emotions were on overdrive. The act of pounding my feet into the pavement kept my tears at bay until I reached the house.
Mom was removing bags of groceries from her car. When she saw me, she froze, almost losing a bag. “What happened?”
I huffed out breath after breath. “Nothing.” I took one of the bags from her then slammed the trunk, the act reverberating through me.
“Did Mr. Flynn find out more about the vandal? Or did something happen with you and Train?”
The minute she said his name, my tear ducts flew open. I stomped into the house and into the kitchen then set the grocery bag on the counter.
Mom came in a second later. When her hands were free, she pulled me in for a hug. “I’m going to assume it’s Train since if your name was cleared, you’d be happy. Unless the principal is suspending you.”
“It’s Train!” I cried.
